Category: Recipes

The first time I made this Awesome (habanero) Sauce, I just started throwing stuff together that I thought would be good – habaneros, pineapple, garlic, spices, and even pickled carrots. When I took a taste, my first thought was “Oh, my damn! This needs some sausage!” So, I grabbed my car keys and made a mad dash to the grocery store. I’m pretty sure I looked like some sort of deranged tweaker — darting around in all directions, wild-eyed, and mumbling to myself — looking for things to eat with this sauce. “Sausage… Shrimp… ohhhhh…. breakfast tacos… no wait, ALL the tacos!… spinach quesadilla?… uh, yeah….. how about a really good sub sandwich? (duh!)… meatballs… pizza… mmm… ” I’m not exactly proud to say that my meal plan that week consisted entirely of “things that go good with Awesome Sauce.”

(The name I first came up with was “Oh My Damn Sauce”. But, I’ve since settled on Awesome Sauce because it’s way more fun to say, and is also annoying to some people – which is fun.)

I have also recently found that Awesome Sauce goes really well with fried catfish and boudin. Which, coincidentally, rank pretty high on my food pyramid these days.

This sauce might look a little like mustard, and definitely could be used as such, but it packs a really nice bit of heat and way more interesting flavor. Pineapple juice gives it just enough sweetness to tone the habanero down a tad, yet it’s not too sweet. I like it medium hot, sort of along the lines of Sriracha sauce, but you could go way hotter (or less) if you like by adjusting the habaneros.

What’s a Quickle? A Quickle is a quick pickle for those of us who just “aint got time for that!” These suckers are ready overnight, and that’s plenty long enough to have to wait, in my opinion. I love having a big jar of these around. They are fresh and a little crispy and the perfect thing to go with everything that I like to snack on. Sometimes I just stand at the counter, gazing off into the distance and eating them one by one right out of the jar. Or I’ll stack 3 together, and think “Hey! I made a pickle sandwich!” But I do like them with lots of other things…. sandwiches, boudin, anything rolled up in a tortilla, fried catfish, random slices of lunch-meat… and of course on a slider, as that is the perfect ratio of pickle to burger. Behold:

I like to put a good bit of onions in mine, because something magical happens when you pair cucumbers and onions and a bit of vinegar. But, we are talking about pickles now, so it all starts with some cukes. Kirby, or pickling cucumbers are great if you can find them. Or those funny English cucumbers that are usually wrapped up in plastic work well, too. These will have thinner skins than the regular old slicer cucumbers. Get about 10 of the Kirby ones to make a big jar, or about 6-7 English cucumbers.

The process is pretty simple. Slice them up and put in a big bowl so you can distribute the salt and spices evenly. Add some hot pepper if you like, garlic if you like… whatever! These are your pickles!

You’ll be surprised at first at the small amount of liquid, but trust me, the salt will pull moisture out of the cucumbers and make an amazing brine in no time. Note that these are refrigerator pickles… they are not “canned”, and as such, you should not store them in your Doomsday Prep food dungeon. Please. They will stay delish in the fridge for around 2 weeks. So, go ahead and get your fill before the zombie apocalypse starts. (To prepare for THAT, you will need to learn some proper canning skills. That’s for a different day. Today is all about Quickles. Pay attention.)

Use your hands to mix the cucumbers (and onions, carrots, peppers, garlic as you see fit) and salt and spices in a large bowl. Then put them in a big jar. I like to let this sit for a few hours on the counter first BEFORE adding vinegar. This is to make sure the salt has maximum surface time on all the slices, and can do it’s magic and pull that brine out. After that, you can add the vinegar and put in the fridge – and then give it a little shake whenever you think about it. (Basically, whenever you open the fridge door to see if any new snacks have appeared since the last time you peeked inside.) Let them sit overnight, and by the next day, they are perfection!

I hope you like!

P.S: Just wait until you meet Awesome Sauce (that’s next!) Because Quickles and Awesome Sauce pair so nicely with so many things!!

Instructions

Slice cucumbers, and other veggies, then place into large bowl. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix together to distribute spices evenly. Place in a large jar and let sit at room temperature for a few hours. Add vinegar, gently shake and store in the refrigerator. Give it a shake several more times over the next day. Allow to sit overnight.
These will keep well in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.

If you had visited this space before, you might notice that I deleted my entire blog. After not finding the time to post for nearly a year, I just deleted the whole thing and didn’t even keep a backup. Of course, then I had a change of heart within just a few days. So, here we go with a whole new start!

I was a little sad to lose some of the stories, but they aren’t really gone. If you’ve met me or anyone in my family, you will know that one thing we never do is let a good story die. If it was worth telling once, it’s worth re-telling a thousand times! Just stop by any family gathering and bear witness to the 35th annual retelling of “That time Granny Gran got arrested for stealing a beer”. Stick around a little longer, and you’ll probably catch my brother Robert re-enacting (in slow motion) “That time Granny Gran copped a squat on I-10.” Fun times!

And so, for my inaugural post… behold Pepper Crack: The best stuff to ever grace a pizza, breakfast taco, sandwich, or guacamole! It’s like Chicago Style Giardiniera, but with a shit-ton of garlic. Make a big batch, because it takes a few days to become just right, and you wouldn’t want to accidentally run out. We’ll skip story time and get right to the recipe because some people have been asking.

You ready? You’re gonna need a lot of peppers…

My first rule: Don’t cheat on the knife work. It’s a lot of slicing, but it’s so much prettier when you don’t hack it up with a chopper.

Second rule: You really should share. (But, the big jar in back is all for me!)

Instructions

Rinse peppers and cut into slices about 1/4 inch thick. (WEAR GLOVES!) Dice celery. Dissolve 1 Cup Kosher salt into 2 cups warm water in a large (non-metal) bowl. Add the peppers and celery and additional water as necessary to cover the peppers. Refrigerate at least overnight, or up to 3 days.

After the peppers have brined, rinse and drain well, and return to the bowl. (I rinse a couple of times, shaking out some of the seeds.) Chop the garlic (I like not-too-small pieces), slice the olives, and add into the bowl with the peppers. Add the Oregano and about a 1/4 cup of oil, and mix together.

Transfer the pepper mix into clean jars, and then top off with vinegar and oil (approximately half and half, or more vinegar if you prefer.) Let the pepper mix sit for 2-3 days in the refrigerator, gently shaking the jars occasionally. Use within 2-3 weeks.